Tuesday, December 13

moving


this is week is the big week
we are moving.
i'm so excited to finally get to enjoy this house that we have been paying for 
and slaving over

it's been such a blast working on projects with sam the last couple weeks 
we spent this last weekend painting until about 130 AM
naturally we were both a little loopy and slap happy, everything we said was hilarious
it's so rewarding to see things come together

but i've never really moved before 
so send your tips and pointers my way as we get prepared 

Monday, December 5

over the weekend

over the weekend we shared these with our families


Thursday, December 1

let it all begin

tis the season for traditions, parties and events galore
we can't wait to spend the night at home tonight
 after a week of Christmas events every night

my family has been doing a tree for the festival of trees for the past 8-10 years
it's turned into a family affair

our theme this year was on giving 
everything was centered around things you'd give as neighbor gifts



after months of working and crafting we were proud of our tree

all my sisters went on bid night together and were so pleased our tree had more than one bid
when bidding was about to end we had two crowds wanting our tree 
bidding war
we were thrilled to have earned money for the primary children's hospital
and thrilled that our tree turned out so great 

Tuesday, November 22

do you remember?

do you remember last year on this day 
the storm of the century
we all got to leave work early, 
I went home and prepared for the worse 

and then it never came... 


kinda wish we had that threat today, i'd love to go home. 

Thursday, November 17

tears

do you cry every time you read a birth story
or at least get teary eyed




i'm totally guilty of blog surfing during quiet moments at work
whenever i stumble across a birth story i have to read it
and no matter what it says i shed a couple tears.

yesterday i read one featured on the daybook from the rockstar diaries
it's the second down if you read it today

http://www.thedaybookblog.com/

on happy note my sister in law is in labor as we speak!!
so excited for her.

Wednesday, November 16

hair woes

yesterday my kind sister informed me that out of the four girls in the family i have the worse hair
'jeepers thanks'
but it's true i was blessed with fine thin hair with nothing fabulous about it



don't worry she didn't just flat out say that 
I was asking her what she thought i should do with my hair 
I have a hair appointment on Friday(seriously can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!) 
and i'm kinda fed up with the do 
I want to try something new

Source: google.com via Anna on Pinterest

whenever I ask for feedback on here I never get any 
(yes I wrote that to pressure you into saying something)

what hairstyle should I try 



things you should know I don't like to go too short 
I love wearing my hair natural wavy/curly and when it's too short I feel so limited 
also I'm really having a hard time deciding about the bang issue

seems like the new trend is the part in the middle and no bang, 
I think it's really cute but I've had a bang for so long 

Source: google.com via Katie on Pinterest


obviously I'm torn here! 
help!!


pictures are possible ideas but definitely not limited to 

Tuesday, November 15

stolen

Just a couple days ago we were having a conversation with the family about having something stolen 
I've had a couple things of mine stolen in my life, my first experience was my camera
I'd just returned from my study abroad and two days later my camera was stolen
I hadn't uploaded my pictures yet, which was the worse part someone not only had my camera but 
200+ memories that could never be replaced. 

A couple of years ago Sam's bike was stolen off campus 
he'd been studying for a organic chemistry final for a few hours and packed up at about 1130 PM
he went to hop on his bike and it was gone
cable cut and nothing left 

One time I drove my parents fancy car to teach a class at the U and thought I'd locked it 
it's so fancy schmancy I didn't realize I hadn't locked it 
someone walking by must have noticed and stole an iPod and my tithing money 
which both had been stashed away in the center console
the worse part of that was feeling completely violated
someone that I didn't know was rummaging through the car when I wasn't around 

Well unfortunately we have a new stolen item to add to the list 
sunday morning we left our house early for a church meeting at 7AM 
Sam 'couldn't find our car' because our bike rack was stolen
someone in the middle of the night decided to maneuver our rack off the top of our car 
I should add that the rack is locked onto the car and it had to have taken some skill to get it off
we are extremely grateful no real damage was done to the car 
but again I have that violation feeling 
someone was touching my stuff 

needless to say we can't wait to have a locked garage in a couple weeks 


Seriously though... 
I almost feel more sad for the person stealing things than for the victim
how sad that someone is so desperate that they take other peoples things
they have no self worth, or self integrity. 
I've always been taught when faced with a temptation ask myself
'is it worth my integrity' 
the answer is always no. 

Monday, November 14

hero

meet james
he's my 8 year old nephew.  
i was so lucky to 'nanny' james and zachary for about 4 straight years 
sometimes i feel like i have a special bond to them 
we love having them and their sister hazel over for sleep overs 
this last april when james was baptized i was shocked to have james ask me to speak 

last week james had to think of a hero to talk about in scouts 
we assumed he would pick someone like obama, because he's just that kinda kid
well turns out that he picked sam to be his hero

 
I couldn't have thought of  a better person
sam was super flattered to hear that james picked him as his hero 
james said sam was his hero because 
'he always makes everyone in the family happy' 
whenever james is around you'll find him glued to sam's side 
they have a special bond and friendship that is so fun to see. 

Thursday, November 10

movie anyone

have you heard of TRAVELZOO?
Sam and I have gone on a few weekend getaways thanks to travel zoo
they have some great deals
every Wednesday I get the top 20 email
this week had a deal too good to pass up.

here's the link
http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/deal/7991

It's a two for one movie pass from fandango.  Pay $12 now and get two tickets of your choice
you just gotta go the movie before January 12, 2012

What a perfect low key date for a cold winter night.

Wednesday, November 9

struggles

I was looking so forward to our extra hour of sleep this weekend
but now I'm having a hard time adjusting to the new hours
by the time I get off work the sun is close to setting.
I think I have a small case of the winter blues.
After we eat dinner my body just wants to go to sleep because it's so dark and cold!
Hopefully my body will adjust quickly so I can get back to a more productive lifestyle.

How do you cope with the lack of daylight.


After talking to my mom about this last night she told me her favorite part of the day is between 5 and 6
she said it's the most beautiful part and feels so peaceful
i'm going to try to enjoy it today.

Monday, November 7

keys

we did something scary on halloween 
however it wasn't the typical spooky halloweeny scare


we closed on our first house!!!
we felt like we kinda signed our life away after autographing about 40 pages 
but after spending some time at the new house over the weekend we are thrilled 
we are so excited to have a place of our own
our living space has at least doubled 
we couldn't be happier about living in sugarhouse close to so many things 
driving to work has been cut in half because of awesome freeway access 


we are planning on moving sometime in december 
we're having some work done on the house especially in the basement 
we are going to be renting it out so if you know anyone getting married over the holidays 
if they need a place to live ours will be brand spanking new and in a great location
let us know!

it's funny to think how much life changes 
in january sam and i made all of our goals together 
none of them included a house, the opposite to have 'x' amount saved 
needless to say i think we would have met our goal if something better hadn't come along 

we'll definitely have a house warming party most likely the first of the year 
so keep posted!



Thursday, November 3

looking forward

we are back to Friday's off at my office
i'm looking forward this extra day a week
words can't even begin to explain!
this weekend i'm looking forward to

making some of these and trying them out



picking out a color pallet and finding some paint chips





hanging out in something cozy like this



crafting with my sisters, for the Festival of Tree tree



plus I just got asked on out a date! can't wait for that especially.

anything that you are looking forward to?

Tuesday, November 1

even though...

even though everyone is cursing the colder weather told
especially the snow
I kinda enjoyed it


of course i am sad to say good bye to warmer days and warm day activities
but something about the snow is magical
it's mesmerizing
just like watching a fire crackle
i could watch it fall all day long


every season has it's time
i feel super lucky that fall lasted until november
and i know that winter will end eventually too
bringing back our warmer weather
until then i'll try to embrace the beauty around me



disclaimer: I probably won't have this attitude come March!

Monday, October 31

yet another birthday date.

I had planned a couple options for our October date. 
I tried to plan something that wasn't Halloweeny because October is always filled already
However our two options that I planned conflicted with the UofU football schedule 

BUT if you know anything about us at all then you know we(Sam) can't miss a game 
so I had to think on my toes and plan something new 

we headed to a pumpkin patch, 
I've always wanted to go and it turned out to be quite fun 
not to mention it's beautiful... I'm a country girl at heart 
I love rows of fields and crops and tractors.  

we found some pumpkins with character and later carved them 


Happy Halloween. 

Friday, October 28

daily rant

A couple months ago we were chilling with some friends
they were telling us how they just got their auto insurance lowered
they told us how much it was and it was like 40 bucks less than us

I'd been feeling like we have been paying too much for awhile
but this motivated some serious action
Sam called our agent and told him the scoop
the guy 'made some phone calls' and said that we were getting the best deal out there


Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest


well a couple months later...
we were shopping for home insurance
our loan officer introduced us to an insurance broker
she helped us get home insurance for about 200 dollar/year less than through our other guy
so i had her shop around for auto insurance.


Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest


drum rollll.....

our auto insurance will be cut in half
starting monday






yes that's over THREE THOUSAND dollars extra we've paid throughout our marriage
that's a really nice trip
or a baby(i've heard they cost about that much)
new bikes!
a lot of work on house
etc. etc. etc.




so if you think you are getting ripped off, you probably are
even if your guy says your not ask an outside source
then celebrate!

The pictures added are what I'm buying with my new saved money!(a girl can dream)

Tuesday, October 25

people

last week was a big week here around the office 
it made me a little embarrassed for any small complaint 
because some of my fellow coworkers were enduring much more 
and with much more class than i ever could.

If you are ever in need of reading an inspiring story click on 
kris and kecia 
blog on the left hand side 
earlier this year they began the process of adopting a down syndrome girl from ukraine
they already have one down syndrome girl of their own and felt inspired to adopt
by the way this is after kecia had miscarried 3 times!
so after spending a crazy amount of time and money they finally got their girl
watch the videos on the blog and you'll be balling
well shortly after they got home they found out they were pregnant 
with twins!
3 new kids in 1 year
they are thrilled but just went through a scare of almost losing the babies 
last week they had to fly to LA for a procedure to save the babies 
it worked, but kecia's on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy 
it's truly inspiring to read their stories 

it's truly uplifting to read her stories 
i'm sure you know what i'm talking about 
it's great to read nie nie or rockstar diaries but reading someone who you rub shoulders with 
it changes it drastically.  
it makes you want to become better 
appreciate more 
and give.

Monday, October 24

baby

sam asked me; aren't you worried people think your pregnant since you have a baby board on pinterest?
nope I'm not nervous because nursery's and anything baby for that matter can be some of the cutest things  to check out.  It's going to be challenging decorating a nursery some day so many different directions you can go. here are some of my favorite pinterest nurseries/ baby items. 


Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

i love everything about this nursery, the colors, the feeling, the warmth, the bold rug

Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

awesome


such a cute and affordable wall statement

pom-poms

Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

awesome
Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest


Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

Thursday, October 20

getting ready for the cold

the one bonus to cold weather is wearing cold weather clothes
i love boots, sweaters, coats, scarfs, hoodies etc.



doesn't that hoodie look devine?



love love love boot socks


Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

yes please.

Source: None via amandajayne on Pinterest

loving trousers and belts

Wednesday, October 19

rugs

pretty soon we are going to need to invest in some rugs for hardwood floors
I've never had to purchase a rug
it's total pressure because it can make or break a room
do you have rugs?
where'd you find them